Infertility - A Disease

Infertility is a medical terminology used to refer to the issues of the reproductive system which creates hurdles in reproduction of offsprings. It is a medical ailment which affects both men and women. Infertility is not gender specific.

Male Infertility

Male infertility refers to the inability of the man to impregnate his partner despite trying to conceive for a period of ayear or more. Cause for male infertility could be multifactorial.
There are many reasons as to why a man is infertile. It could be something related to the quality, structure, and function of sperm. There could be some structural issues, hormonal issues, genetic issues, lifestyle related issues leading to infertility in men.

What Men Need to Know About Infertility

There are a few things men need to know about infertility as it helps them cope better, helps them in taking well informed decisions. Let us quickly have a look at some of the things men need to know about infertility.

• Stay positive: Most importantly, what men need to understand is that being infertile is not the end of the world. Infertility is neither a life threatening nor an irreversible condition. It is a treatable medical lacuna. It is nothing to feel shameful, depressed, or dejected.
• Male Infertility Reasons: Male infertility can be due to a lot of reasons. Some of these reasons could be the ones related to life style, physical, genetic, or hormonal factors. Habits like excessive drinking and smoking, unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity affect fertility. The infertility issues could be due to faulty sperm production which could be due toillnesses which are genetic, structural issues, imbalance of the hormones, etc.
• Gender Bias: Infertility is not a condition related only to women. Men are equally affected by infertility, if not more. So, need to understand infertility is not gender specific.
• Importance of Medical Intervention: Being an infertile man does not mean that the man would remain childless lifelong or will never be able to father a child. It just implies that it is less likely that the person can have a spontaneous conception. For men with infertility issues, conception may not be easy, but with the help of the right medical intervention at the right time and therapies, becoming a father may just be round the corner.
• Treatments: Infertility is treatable. Surgery is not always the only choice. It may or may not require surgery. Treatments range from therapies to medicines to counselling to surgery and many more.
• Couple treatment: As noted, most often infertility is a result of a combination of variables stemming from both the partners, which includes both male and female issues. Thus, a thorough examination of both the partners can help understand the root cause of infertility. Once the reason for infertility is clear then a right treatment strategy can be initiated.
• Timely medical assistance: It is very important to understand and acknowledge the need of medical intervention before it is too late. Reproduction at the right time yields a healthy child. Very late conceptions have so often resulted in still birth or kids born with certain congenital deformities or lacunas.

Male Infertility Diagnoses

Commonly noted issue in male infertility is the issue of sperm production such as immature sperm, sperm incapable of swimming, unusual morphology. There could be lesser number of sperms. To understand the exact underlying reason of infertility a few tests may be conducted.

• Review of medical history: A detailed assessment of medical history and surgical history, allergies,family history, currently on any medications or prior history of any drug intake.

• Family history/lifestyle: Assessment of family history to assess any history of infertility or birth abnormalities in the family. Thorough examination to understand lifestyle problems, workplace dangers, exposure to long term risky chemicals or drugs.

• Physical examination: Thorough examination of the genitalia and inputs from the patient as regards to health issues, hereditary abnormalities, previous injuries, surgeries, that can interfere with the patient’s fertility. Details about puberty stage may also be looked into.

• Special sperm function tests: Sperm function tests are done to assess membrane integrity, DNA integrity of sperms, ability of sperm to fertilize egg. Any other tests required, depending on the patient’s overall health, if necessary, may be done if suspected as culprit to the person’s infertility.

Treatment

Male infertility treatment options include medications, surgery, counselling therapies, and assisted reproductive technology (ART). Treatments are given depending on the cause of the patient’s infertility.

• If there is no major underlying concern related to infertility, then therapies which are evidence-based to increase fertility can be suggested asthe treatment modality.

• If the patient is found to have medical issues such as erectile dysfunction or hormonal issues leading to infertility then it will be treated by the use of medications. Medications will be the mode of treatment if any infections as well.

• Surgery may be the treatment if the patient is found to have any damage to the reproductive organs or if there is any anatomical defect. Also, surgery is the option if there are blockages intubes carrying the sperm. Surgery may be warranted even for obstructed vas deferens and prior vasectomy reversal.

• In vitro fertilisation(IVF), retrieval of sperm from epididymis or the testicles, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) are also the chosen methods for treatment of male infertility.

• Options other than those mentioned above include adopting healthy lifestyle which includes healthy diet with adequate physical activity to quit smoking and alcohol intake if any

Conclusion

When it comes to infertility, it is not a very easy lacuna to accept. Infertility comes along with a sense of dejection and affects mental health in many patients, but then what men need to know about infertility is that it is treatable. There is hope. Thanks to the advancement of medicine, the problem of infertility can be addressed head on. It is possible to become a father, enjoy the bliss of fatherhood. So stay calm, stay positive, approach the right medical practitioner/fertility doctor at the right time, follow the treatment course and delve into the happiness of fatherhood.